


Stay

by ApocalypseLater



Category: Original Work
Genre: Apocalypse, Badass, F/M, Other, The Author Regrets Nothing, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:41:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27612218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApocalypseLater/pseuds/ApocalypseLater
Summary: The worlds gone to shit and all you’ve ever tried to do was survived. Your rules are what have kept you alive. What happens when you break them for more than just survival? Maybe for an actual chance at a semi-normal life.
Kudos: 1





	Stay

I always wondered if there was more to life than to just get a job, keep the government happy, and then die. Pretty boring right? The outbreak gave some spice to my mediocre life, although I lost my parents and younger brother to it eventually. People who may have formally been your neighbor, sister or friend, became mindless hungry puppets that had a sweet tooth for human flesh. Kind of like The Walking Dead. 

Out here I stay by myself, in hopes of closing myself off from others. So, I can’t care for them. They’ll get killed and I’ll just be here. It seems like everyone I had ever cared about died, just Houdinied themselves out of humanity, leaving me broken. Becoming an uncaring, undead, screeching cannibal, I have too much dignity to lose by caring about people.

I live by a list of rules. They are pretty simple; Don't let your guard down, don't get involved, and don't care. Those rules have kept me alive so far. I must be doing something right.

I walked down a dead street. Cars are strewn about, a road sign barely holding onto the wood. I stabbed an on-going screecher in the head with a barstool I had earlier fashioned into a spear, as I walked past it.

I tucked a piece of my golden brown hair behind my ear, that had fallen out of the ponytail I had put my hair in. I pulled the spear out of the corpse’s head and huffed. I was here to find a place to stay for a while. I had heard before the government went quiet, that there was a place for people to go, called ‘Wavarian’. 

I know I told you I’ve been going solo, but it's been pretty difficult to find supplies, so I thought I might as well check the place out. I can split if things go sour. I trekked farther, past flame wrecked house with matching corpses, until I saw a wooden sign with the words ‘Wavarian 10 km’ in chipping green paint. It’ll take about 2 and a half hours to get there, including breaks. 

Better start walking while it's light out. The streets will be crawling with screechers by the time the sun sets. That's what I call them at least. Screechers. I guess you could call them ‘zombies’ or ‘walkers’, but their blood-curdling shriek they make when dusk hits, and additional times throughout the night, gives me the right to call them that. 

I continue to walk straight past the sign with my spear in one hand, using it as a walking stick, and a baseball bat (I had hammered nails into to make it more deadly) in the other. It was about an hour and a half later. 1 hour to go. But I was exhausted and needed to rest. The sun was starting to set behind the shadowy trees anyway. This place would be screecher central, but I’d die if I kept going. So I thought I might as well set up camp in a run-down gas station I had seen to my right. This place gave me the ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ vibes.

I kicked open the boarded-up door and the stench of rotting flesh hit me hard. I covered my nose with my arm sleeve but almost puked. I watched as a swarm of flies flew around me, some fleeing to the outside world.

Then the horrid sight hit me. There was the body of a male cashier with a gun in his right and a bullet in his head, self-inflicted. ‘Poor guy’ I thought as I walk along. There was another body. It was a woman, blood around her mouth and a bullet in her head as well. There was one last body in the gas station. Although it seemed a bit odd. It was the body of a little girl, around 11-12 years old. She was wearing a clean red dress, and one of her arms was behind her back. I tried to find a wound that would verify how she died. I was about to move her arm from behind her back when I heard a ‘tsk tsk tsk’ and the sound of a gun turning off safety. I had already broken rule 1, don’t let your guard down.

I was about to turn around but heard a firm “Don’t move” and I felt the barrel of a gun press against my back. I looked back at the little girl and her eyes were open, staring at me. She then kicked me in the gut, which then sent me to the ground on my back, in shock. The little girl stood up and removed her arm from behind her back, revealing a large pistol. The little girl pulled off the safety with her thumb and aimed it at my head.

“Ah-ah, now Scarlette,” an older man’s voice boomed. The girl then backed up and towards the wall. I sat up and an older gentleman wearing an all-white suit with slicked-back white hair came into view.

“What the fuck was that for?” I huffed angrily.

“Sorry for the rough handling,” he replies, studying my spear I had dropped earlier.

The man nodded to a woman, who then walked up to me and took my bag and bat.

“Hey, give me my shit back!” I protested, outraged by the mysterious man.

The woman gives the man my bag and he then looks at the nametag.

“I’m sorry, Kathlene, but I’m afraid I can't do that.” The man replies calmly, angering me even more.

“How do you know my name? and why the hell not?” I reply, as I give him a look of hatred.

“Now now, let’s not get ourselves worked up now. I know everything about you, you’ve gotten yourself quite a record. But I’d consider watching your mouth and listening. You happen to be on my territory.” Travis stalks his way toward me, twiddling a sharp dagger in his hands. “Oh, I’m terribly sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I’m Travis.” says Travis in a thick southern accent.

“Bite me” I reply.

“You’re a feisty one, now aren't you,” he says chuckling, and roughly rubbing my head. “But in any case, I have a deal for you. You give us all your belongings and I let you live. You resist, we kill you and take your things anyway.”

“How about you go shove your deal so far up your ass that-”

“I don’t think you should finish that sentence. There are children present.” Travis interrupts, placing the dagger under my chin, and then steals a glance at Scarlette, who just sneers at me.

“I’d consider making the right choice now, I wouldn’t wanna have to get this suit dirty,” He says, kneeling down to be at my eye level. I take the chance and spit right in his face.

“You fucking bitch,” He yells, rising up quickly, and taking out the white handkerchief out of his adorned pocket and tries to wipe his face clean of my saliva off him.

”Right now I could snap your neck like it was nothing. I could break your limbs and strand you here to let them come and eat you alive. You understand me?” Travis threatens, grabbing a fistful of my hair roughly and pulling my face to his.

“But since I’m so kind, I’m gonna forget that. I’ll give you to the count of 3 to choose your fate,” Travis explains.

“1…, 2…”

Before Travis can say 3, he falls to the ground, dead. All of them do, including Scarlette. They had all been shot. The sound rang in my ears as I tried to cover them. Suddenly, a bunch of men with big guns burst in through the front door and the bathrooms. There are bullet holes all throughout the walls and front windows of the gas station. Two men stand me up and escort me out of the station. They take me to a tall, brown-haired man wearing camo pants and a black t-shirt. He is also carrying a big gun.

“I’m Landon,” the man says, sticking out his hand.

“Kathlene,” I respond, shaking it.

“Nice to meet you,” Landon beams.

“Same to you,” I respond, feeling oddly safe.

I was about to ask if I could leave, but I don't think I’d get 3 feet away before Screechers devoured me. Or maybe Landon would stop me. Either way, it would be wiser to stay within the middle of these obviously trained men. It would be safer. Smarter. 

We start walking in the same direction as ‘Wavarian’, but turn left down a gravel road. After about 20 minutes of forest, we approach a large wall armed to the teeth with machine gun-wielding soldiers.

“Listen, Landon,” I say as the huge gate opens, and he turns to look at me. “I do appreciate you saving my life and being so humble and all, but I really should get going,” I say with as much appreciation as I can muster up. God, I’m not good at human interaction.

“I know, but at least let us treat you to some food, and then you can leave in the morning if that's still what you wish,” Landon replies.

“I don’t know…” I respond coldly.

“Cmon, it's only one night,” Landon says with a friendly smile on his face.

“O...Ok,” I say, finally giving in. I was hungry.

“Ok! Then it's settled,” Landon says with a happy expression on his face.

About an hour passes and it's already completely dark. I sit at a bonfire eating a bowl of beef stew, watching people dance around the fire, laughing and having a good time. I earlier had a shower for the first time in a long time and dressed in clothes they had given me. I saw Landon give a group of children a package of glow sticks. The sound of drums beating and laughter almost drowned out the wails of the screechers outside of the wall. It was nice, not having to worry about the undead coming and killing me in my sleep. I had almost forgotten that the apocalypse had happened. That my parents had died. That my brother had been killed right in front of me. It was nice.

Landon notices me and walks over to sit beside me. “How are you doing?” he asks.

“Great actually. Thanks to you guys. This place is amazing.” I say, complimenting the leader.

“Tell me about yourself.” He says to me.

“You go first,” I tell him.

“Ok, well, I grew up in Gordonsville, Virginia with my parents. I enrolled in the military at 18. I got transferred to Chicago last year.” Landon explains. 

“Now you have to tell me about you,” he says smirking.

“Ok. I’m from Springfield, but after the whole outbreak, I came here.”

“Did you come with anyone?” He asks me.

I shake my head no.

“What about your family?” He asks.

“They’re all dead,” I say mechanically, trying not to show how I really felt, as I flashback to before.

Before the apocalypse, before the demise of my family. Back to when I went to school and had friends. Before.

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“It's ok really. I’ve gotten over it” I lied.

Silence soon follows. “Listen, you can stay if you want,” Landon says.

“I can’t.” I simply answer.

Landon smiles sadly at me, “and that's your choice.”

More silence.

“Hey, well at least dance with me.”

“What?” I respond.

“Dance with me,” Landon says smiling as he puts out his hand for me to take,

The drums have lessened but are still going.

I take his hand. “But I can't dance,” I say.

“Of Course you can,” He says. “Just like this.”

He puts my left hand on his shoulder and my right in his hand. He puts his hand on my waist. He sways back and forth and I follow.

I feel butterflies collect in my stomach. I had just broken rule 2. Don’t get involved.  
I lean in and put my head on his shoulder.

We danced until the fire slowly burned away. People started to head inside, to sleep I presume. 

Landon walks me to my door.

“Thank you,” I say and he smiles at me.

I kiss his cheek and smile back at him before heading inside the room that was set up for me. 

I climb into the bed and stare at the ceiling. This bed is so comfortable. Yet, I can’t sleep. Tonight was the best night I've had in probably forever. Landon made me feel so safe and comfortable. This place is perfect for me. Civilization and maybe even Landon. But I have already broken two of my rules, the rules that have kept me alive. I can’t risk breaking the 3rd. Don’t care.

I suddenly see the sky lighten up, I guess no sleep for me. I sit up and cover my shoulders with a blanket, and walk outside to a deck of sorts. I watch as the sun slowly rises.

I hear a door open and close. Landon approaches me. He looks at me in the eyes with desperation.

“Please stay,” he says and I want to, but I can't.

“I can't,” I say, looking at him longingly, before walking back inside my room.

I ready my bag and weapons as the sun rises and walks towards the entrance before any civilians wake up. Landon is there at the gate, smiling at me with a bag in his hand.

“This food should last you a few days,” he says, “If you ever change your mind, the gate is always open for you,” Landon says.

“Thank you,” I say smiling.

I quickly kiss him and look at him one last time. I walk through the gate and hear the gate close behind me.

I venture out down the gravel road, spear and bat in my hands. I turn left when the road meets the main street. I continue on the road until I see a monster of a building peering through the fall trees.

I walk to the large gate of the building and stop, so far so normal. I bang on the gate, no response.

I start to climb the gate, and when I reach the top, I am horrified to see the faces of hundreds of screechers staring back at me. They screech at me and I struggle to keep my balance. I try to climb back down the gate but my foot is stuck. I finally release it, but they continue to bang on the gate.

‘The place is dead. They’re all gone.’ I think before losing my balance, falling headfirst into the mob of screechers.

I should have stayed.

**Author's Note:**

> It seems I'm going on a posting spree, finding shorts I've written but have never seen the light of day. Better thank me for this;)


End file.
